Goods reinforcement from waste leather, fabric, and low‐density polyethylene by using plant binder. Issue 6 (17th March 2021) - Alemu, Ketema
Abstract: The apparel industry is considered to be one of the most polluting manufacturing industries and it generates a large number of wastes that can harm the environment. Ignorance of the waste of finished and used leather and fabric leads to environmental pollution. Converting this solid waste into efficient products is proving to be a challenge. The article examines the possible use of waste leather, fabric, and low‐density polyethylene to develop composites using plant binder. This composite material has a comparable tensile strength (23.6 ± 0.16 μm), the flexibility of 89%, and very reasonable elongation at break (31.40%) when compared to the standard reinforcement material of leather goods since the commercial reinforcement have tensile strength of 15–25 μm; flexibility 50%–90% and 25–40 (Teklay, 2018). The mechanical properties of the flexible composite were promising and made it possible to use it in the leather and textile industries in goods manufacturing as reinforcement of bag. Therefore, the study uncovered a new concept for making composite materials that are environmentally friendly and cost effective as reinforcement of bag manufacturing.